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BESH BAYBEES

dontrythisathome, girl born March 25.
Cheggers, twinz girlz, born April.
FannyPriceless, boy, born June 8.
CurlyCasper, girl, born June 24.
CUNextTuesday, boy, born June 29.
AlpinePony, boy, born 1 July.
Carrots, boy, born July.
IggyPiggy, girl, born July.
Cosmosis, boy, born Sept 5.
Backinthebox, boy, born Sept 7.
Skatergrrrl, girl, born Sept 10.
VAG, boy, born Oct 2.
Silversky, boy, born Nov 1.
SomethingSuitablyWitty, girl born Nov 2.
okiecokie, girl, born Nov 12.
Honeymoo, boy, born Nov 11.
ReginaMonologue, boy, born Nov 13.
Maswera, boy, born Dec 24.
PollyPoo, girl, born Jan 5.
MrsFC, boy, born Jan 7.
ChoChoSan, girl, born 6 Feb.
Ginhag, boy born 11 Feb.
Muser, girl, born 15 Feb.
CluckyKate, boy, born 18 Feb.
Perfect Dromedary, boy, born 23rd February.
Casserole, girl born 19th March
Medee, girl, born 26th March.
StiffyByng, girl, born 17th May
Scorpette, boy, born 21st May.
Rocketleaf, girl, born 23rd May.
TwinkleToes, girl, born 7th June.
Laurielou, boy, born 9th June.
Orchid, girl, born 24th June.

UPDIFFED

Ginfox, loving the new mega-boobs, due 12th July.
LadyGoneGaga, No, it's not fucking twins, due 24 July.
Mrbitey, so hot right now, due 27th July.
Macaroonmum, thinking of calling baybee Vanilla Ice, due Aug 6th.
Owlbooty, sticking to a schedule, due 7th August.
Ocarina, there's a what in there?! due late August.
Mountie, too shy to shine, due Autumn.
Truffkin, growing a padawan, due 18th November
BarbiesBeaver, can't quite believe it, due Christmas Day
BrownB, INSERT WITTY COMMENT, due 25th January 2012
AlpinePony, INSERT AMUSING COMMENT, due 19th Feb 2012

Ok my understanding is this. they will give you a course of injections that you administer yourself starting after your period to stop your reproductive system. You get scanned to make sure they have worked (I think) then you start the next lot of injections to stimulate your follicles. I think these last a while, a few weeks?. Then they scan you again to see how many follicles are there and the size (10 mm is optimal). Ie how many eggs they could collect Then they might adjust the dose. Then you go back for another scan and egg collection . They then fertilise them and hopefully you get some viable embryos and you have them implanted (bit hazy about that part, see below)

The first time my freind didn't feel much different, this time round she is feeling utter shite. This is probably because she is on the higher dose this time as unfortunately they only got 3 eggs last time and no embryos (this is relatively unusual though so dont worry too much)

Really hope it goes well for you sunshine

Thanks fellow Hags. I know it's a while off yet & what will be will be but I like to be prepared. Will have to get TCOYF out the library again & read the IVF bit, flipped past it when we first started TTC thinking well that's not going to happen to me! I'm still hoping to drop the butter dish before then .

Hey Sunshine. Sorry I have no experience of IVF so no words of wisdom. I'm glad at least things seem to be moving in the right direction - I felt strangely good about going to the FC as it gave me a new glimmer of hope. I got as far as being given Clomid & on waiting list for IVF. Sorry if you've gone over this before - what was the prognosis from your various tests? Did they find anything conclusive? Reason I ask is Mr Loz & I were on IVF list despite no real conclusive problems detected through numerous tests. I took a month OFF Clomid & hey presto! Don't want to give you false hope but stranger things can happen. Fingers crossed for you, x

Thanks Laurie. Our problem is faulty white goods. Poor Mr Sunny has low count & low motility which is why we're going straight to IVF. I keep thinking that it does only take one swimmer.

Happened to my colleague. He'd been told that he'd never have kids as his sperm was pretty poor, and one day he and his wife were pleasantly surprised by a small boy who barged into their lives. They've just had a second now too - though am not sure about whether this was IVF or another happy moment of beating the odds.

I have another colleague who went straight to go, and had IVF when she hadn't even been trying for very long (fancy lying to the NHS). She had twins, and no more appeared, so it was probably the right call on their part.

I like the thought of a small child barging it's way into our lives Brownie. The acupuncture woman keeps telling me I need to visualise but it's a bit woo for me. I keep trying though!

"every sperm is sacred... every sperm is great..." Stranger things have happened. However probably best to go to the IVF thingie to cover all bases...!

The only thing our tests showed was Mr Loz had lower than average sperm motility. I was also going through a course of reflexology when I got diffed. No idea whether that helped or not, but if you're not against a bit of woo.............

Ooh, I think we've talked about this before? My husband had dodgy sperm - less than a million in the count - and we were sent straight to ICSI. I was about to go for our information session when they realised that my BMI was too high. We agreed I'd lose weight, and I started training for a 10k and dieting...but a couple of weeks in, I felt a bit weird and did a test - and lo! it was positive. Mahoosive and very welcome shock.

My bloke had been taking the boy version of Pregnacare, with Pycogenol (sp?) on the side. I'd been having acupuncture and taking all the supplements in the world. Something worked...

RLR, previously of this parish, reporting for IVF info duty. Hello SunnyD, long time no see. It's difficult to answer your specific questions as your protocol will be tailored to you, so side effects, length of time you take the drugs for, and frequency of scanning can all vary considerably. All I can tell you about is my experience.

One of our problems was that I have very elderly eggs in a moderately elderly body (hormone levels equivalent to about a 45 yr old; I'm 35). Because of this I didn't have the first type of injections that most people do (down-regulation), as they didn't need to switch my ovaries off. I believe that this first part of the IVF cycle can be quite menkul-inducing, because it is like being sent into the menopause overnight. I think I recall that cinco did not enjoy this bit.

As leafy says, you will have a baseline scan to make sure you are switched off, then you will commence the stimulant drugs, which is where my cycle started from (on day 2 for me). The injections were FINE, and I am Not At All Brave. Mr RLR administered mine, partly because I felt less squeamish about that than I did about doing it myself, and partly because we both wanted him to share a little of the pain, as it were. Sitting at the kitchen table making up syringes of drugs was pretty surreal to start with; I had assumed they came ready mixed, but it depends what dose you're on (e.g. I was on 3 ampoules of menopur per injection; some people have 6). I had no side effects at all. Oh hang on, I lie, had a little local swelling from one of the drugs, like hives. Went away on application of ice cube.

Scanning (dildo, obv) for me started on day 8. They could see that I wasn't responding to the treatment (not a problem you should have if it's a white goods ishoo), so they upped my dosage and scanned me again on day 10. By that point they could see that my shrivelled ovaries were a lost cause, and told me to take the trigger shot (to prepare the eggs for collection) that night, ahead of retrieval on the morning of day 12.

Retrieval was also FINE. I was well sedated and didn't feel a thing. In another life, propofol would be my poison of choice: when I came round I felt as though I'd had the best nap ever, and was all snoozy and smiley. At this point we got the bad news that they'd only managed to retrieve 3 eggs, and, quite unexpectedly, Mr RLR's sample was crap, so ICSI would be required. Before I was discharged they updated us that, when they had prepared the eggs for ICSI, only 2 of them were mature enough to be injected with a swimmer, whereas all 3 could have been good enough for IVF, so that was disappointing.

However, both eggs fertilised, both divided well, and I couldn't believe it when we were back at the FC for transfer 48 hours later, choosing between two embryos. Very strange to think that the embryologist essentially picked my baybee from a choice of two. The other one is in the freezer. Transfer was completely FINE - no worse than a smear, although took about 10 minutes rather than 1.

After transfer I rested for a few days and got in the swing of shoving progesterone pessaries up me foof twice a day. No much woo, not my thing. Had a bit of acupuncture but it felt like a waste of money to me. Again, I had no side effects, and no symptoms of diffedness. Nor did I have the usual signs of approaching droid, but that CAN be because your progesterone is being kept artificially high (headfuck alert).

I had a positive test on day 27 and am now 30 weeks diffed. The odds were massively against me, so I know how incredibly lucky I am. I hope it is the same for you ((secret BESH hug)).

As you can see from my lengthy tale, the physical side of IVF was nowhere near as gruelling as I expected, but of course you can't know how you are going to react/feel until you're actually doing it. The hardest thing was the emotional side of it, from not knowing what to expect (will the needles hurt/will the retrieval hurt) to dealing with bad news (shitty response to stimulation/unexpected need for ICSI). Having had a successful cycle, of course I would say that I would do it again in a heartbeat, but I can see that repeated cycles would be an entirely different prospect, and that was certainly something I worried about at the time (I'm not very good at taking things one step at a time).

I wish you all the BESHt. Please do ask away if I've missed anything out!

IVF/ICSI is fricking amazingballs. I am all happy about your diffedness again Lyra reading that. Is wonderful what they can do.

Good luck with it all KeepOnTheSunnySide.

Sunny I had three rounds of IUI - which involves some of the same processes of IVF but obviously not the retrieval bit. AS Lyra said - your treatment wil be tailored to you and your hormones levels and your response to treatment each time.

You might need to take a course of birth control pills to "switch off" your hormones first for a few weeks. Then you may go for a bseline dildocam scan. Or you may just ring up at the start of your cycle and start injections on day 2 or whatever. You usually have another dildocam scan about day 8 to see how many follicles are growing and how big they are, and how your uterine lining looks. Depending on this they may alter the level of your drugs. You will probably have a couple more dildocams so that you have your trigger shot of HCG at the right time.

The injections are fine - I did them myself either in my top of thigh or in the belly - alternating sides. The belly ones are actually less painful. SOme come prepacked in a fancy pen like thing that you simply dial the amount you need and press the top, some you may need to mix yourself. Some drugs need to be kept in the fridge (like your trigger shot), and some need to be taken at a precise time (the trigger shot again must be taken exactly when they tell you).

I found it a relief to get on with it actually. And remember - lots of people get lucky first go with IVF but it isn't a guarantee. It's good to try to think of the first round as a trial - to see how you respond to the drugs and so on, and then if you get your win then that's obviously a bonus.

Oh and the drugs didn't make me feel too bad at all - Clomid was much more menkal making. Just drink lots of water to ward off headaches and the like. Best of ESH luck!

And Pone how brilliant for healthy boy number two!

Thanks for the input on birthing balls I might get one off ebay as I'm finding my back aches near the end of the day. I had my last day of fieldwork yesterday! Bit sad but it's for the best - I'm rubbish at walking very far and carrying anything so not much use.

Yay for boy number 2 Alps.

Sunny I have no experience of IVF but am v glad other people are around with advice. I wanted to say all the best with it - as Muse said, it really is amazing that such things are possible.

Peedie is a month old today - how did that happen? So we're suffering from sleep deprivation but loving being parents. TH is entertainingly besotted, and I'm surviving the first week where I've not had someone around (either TH on paternity leave, or my Mum or sister staying to help out). We've managed to get dressed every day thus far which I'm figuring is a good start.

Thank you HRHRLR & Barb. I feel much more informed now & it's great knowing that there are previous BESH who are now diffed as a result. My treatment won't start until the beginning of next year but I feelike I know more about what to expect. Congrats on your wins ladies. Science is fecking amazing!

Loads of luck with it shineon and I'll keep hoping you Get a surprise win before then.

That was brilliantly informative Lyra ( and how lovely to see that name on here even if it was just for a quickie) :)

I have a question - you know you had 2 fertilised and then you had one put in? Do some people choose to have both put in?

boo yes you are given the choice, hence why some people have twins. The reason being once frozen the embryos have less chance of implanting and to doubles your chances of ONE of them implanting. Quite a brave move in my opinion though

Yes, I was thinking that must be why. That's why some rare peoples have 6 as well isn't it?

You're not allowed to have 6 put back in over here - I think the limit's 2 for most people, possibly 3 if you're ancient (in fertility terms - like 45 or something) but I'm not sure if that's still the case. I'm pretty sure that having 2 put back doesn't double the chances of a successful pregnancy - it increases it, but not by that much and of course you have to balance it against the possibility of twins!

Oooh it is nearly time for a new Fred! I haven't been on this one long enough to know whose babies were born on what dates so I won't start the new one right now as I haven't got time to read all 40 pages this afternoon. If anyone else wants to do it today, my due date is 12th April. I am not feeling very amusing and witty today though.
Seems like there aren't that many differs on here to be on the not-list. Perhaps there are second timers in the Cresh who are not on it?

Nice to see lots of good advice for sunnyD Science really is bloody brilliant. without it I'd probably not have managed to stay diffed. 20 years ago perhaps I'd never have been able to have a baby.

Dearest SunnyD. Have a hug and a

And hello all other differs! Lyra!!!11!111111!!11